2B's Hidden Desire
by nierest
Summary: 9S asks 2B a question. She's happy to give him an answer.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first request! I'm not too great at writing in first person and I'm not too great at dealing with lots of dialogue, but I tried and I think it came out pretty great! I hope the person who requested this enjoys it. I'll be writing another 2B x 9S soon as well!

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2B was 148.8 kilograms of pure metallic muscle. Despite her immense weight, she moved with as much grace as any other combat android, maybe more. And despite that grace, her defences were pretty much impenetrable. She was impressive; a breathtaking angel of the battlefield. She was a modern day _Valkyrie_ , and that's not an exaggeration. I was a 129.9 kilo _child_ whose greatest achievement was managing to not stumble over every shrub and bush I went through. And I wasn't even wearing _heels_ , unlike 2B—she would just glide across the ground as if she were as light as air itself. _In heels_! She was seriously amazing. It almost made me want to test how amazing her defence systems really are…

"9S." A voice called, pulling me out of my thoughts and into the landscape that was the city ruins. That monotone voice could belong to none other than my partner, 2B.

"Yeah?" I spoke, letting her know her words were acknowledged.

"You're staring. Is something wrong?" She said simply, barely turning her head to address me. I couldn't blame her, though—machine lifeforms were everywhere, especially amongst the wreckage that was once a city. She had to have her full attention on the enemies all around us.

"Uh, no," I replied, a few steps behind her, "I was just thinking." I wondered if she was going to pry further, even though doing so would be uncharacteristic of her. I actually kind of wanted her to pry. Maybe because I always had the urge to speak what's on my mind. However, I was painfully aware of how talking to myself and sticking my nose into someone else's personal… self, I should say, would make others feel. I especially didn't want to make 2B uncomfortable with questions about her weight.

"Hmm. Ok." She responded without a care, turning her head to face whatever lay in front of her. Ugh, I seriously just want to ask her…

"I can feel you staring." The combat android spoke quickly, turning on her heels to face me. "What are you thinking about?" She took a step closer, over a small stone that I definitely would have tripped over. Finally, my interest got the better of me.

"2B." I started, fumbling with my gloved fingers. This curiosity is going to be the death of me.

"Yes?" 2B replied, staring down at me through her pitch black visor.

"Is it ok if I ask you a… personal question?" I brought my hand to my chin, tilting my head. She stared at me blankly, giving nothing away from her neutral expression.

"Yes, that's fine." I was surprised at her response. Normally she would only accept questions about the mission, but she wasn't cold-hearted enough as to turn me down, I guess? I breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're pretty heavy, right? But you're fast, too. Not to mention, you look like you weigh around 50 kilograms rather than 148—"

"What are you getting at, 9S?" She cut me off, folding her arms across her chest. She didn't _sound_ angry, at least.

"Well, basically… just how durable _are_ you?" I finally asked, happy to get the question off my chest. Her hand's returned to her sides, and she actually looked confused. What happened to 'emotions are prohibited', 2B?

"Want to test it out?" 2B replied, a small amount of amusement evident in her voice. I stared, dumbfounded.

"What?" I was taken aback. I had to reaffirm what she said. It just didn't seem to be a very 2B-like thing to suggest.

"My durability. Test it out." She walked closer towards me, until we were only three steps apart. "Try hitting me and see where it gets you." I stood back in surprise. Was that a threat?

"I-I can't hit you, 2B. Our chips prevent us from engaging in combat with other YoRHa units." This whole situation was confusing, odd, strange, and all the other words that meant 'this definitely wasn't right'.

"I'm sure you're capable of disabling them for three minutes or so." She spoke blankly, looking aloof as usual. Was this seriously not bothering her?! Besides, could I really do that? I'd probably get found out. But if I covered my tracks well enough…

"I mean, I can try." I sighed, lacing my fingers together.

"You're curious, right? I won't fight back." She spoke, resting her weight on her left leg. I tried to look everywhere but at her, eyes dodging to the depraved scenery around us. She really cared that much about my curiosity, huh? Or maybe she wanted to get it out of the way so I wouldn't bother her in the future…

"Ok then. I'll give it a shot." I finally replied, immersing myself in my own mind. I glided through all the files in my memory banks, all my settings, until I came across the object that had been barring me from my subject of interest. I swiftly disabled my inability to attack YoRHa units, and triple-checked to make sure I had disable the correct things. Once I was sure, I immediately came back to my senses and faced the outside world.

"Are you done?" 2B questioned, raising an eyebrow. I nodded, nervousness caught in my throat. "Good. Now you'll be able to see how durable I really am." She stated, stretching her arms above her head and cracking her neck. She quickly readied herself into a defensive stance immediately after, prepared to block any attacks that may come her way. Maybe I should have erased my sense of guilt, too…

"Are you sure I can do this?" I asked, still nervous about this whole thing.

"9S." She spoke, a pinch of impatience in her voice.

"Y-Yes?" I responded, jumping a bit at hearing my name.

"Stop talking." She sighed, position ever rigid. I quickly relaxed.

"Right. Sorry." I spoke, cracking my wrists. I made my way towards her, until I was close enough to touch her. But now that it finally came to this, I wasn't sure how game I was to actually go through with this. 2B sensed my hesitation and sighed.

"You can hit me with a stick if that will make it easier." She shook her head, yet still her stance remained. I nodded, grabbing a branch that had fallen at my feet some time ago. I raised it high above my shoulder, circling 2B until I was directly behind her. I had to aim for her weak spot, which would be her back, right? I've got to blindside her. Of course, I was reluctant about the amount of force I was going to hit her with, so I lowered the stick until it was at my elbow. Then… I hit her. Not too hard.

"Did you feel that?" I asked, bringing the stick to my side. She shook her head.

"No." Was her reply. She didn't even _feel_ that?! I would have at least reacted a little bit…

I swung the makeshift weapon down once more, a little harder this time, and maybe a little lower. I wasn't sure.

"How about that?" I asked, withdrawing the stick one again.

"More…" She muttered softly, almost so I couldn't hear her reply.

"W-What?!" I yelped, surprised. What kind of reaction was that?! 'More'…?!

"What?" She spoke, as if what she had just said never happened.

"Uhh… nothing. I thought you said something."

"I didn't say anything."

"Right. That's what I thought."

There was a brief moment of silence between us.

"Are you going to continue? Or—"

"Oh, my settings are back to normal! Sorry, but I don't think I can continue! Ahaha…ha…" I chuckled nervously. Honestly, I was lying. But this was way too weird for me. I mean, it wasn't bad, but what if I _didn't_ imagine her saying 'more'? Could she be a…

"A shame." She said immediately, straightening up and dusting off her skirt. I breathed a shaky sigh of relief, which I don't think she recognised. "I assume you are now satisfied?"

"Y-Yes! _Very_ satisfied!" I laughed awkwardly, and replied too soon. 2B quickly walked past me, and began walking once more. Wow, my heart was pounding…

"9S." She called, bringing me to attention.

"Yeah?" I answered, quickly catching up with her.

"If you ever want to test my durability again," she continued, refusing to face me, "… I wouldn't mind."

Uhhhhhh, what?

"Thanks, 2B," I began to fiddle with my hands, "I'll let you know if I ever get curious."

"Right." 2B responded, sounding somewhat… flustered? No way. I was probably just imagining it. Or maybe she was teasing me? Or, maybe, my first thought was correct.

Could 2B be a masochist?


	2. Chapter 2

My partner hated being called ma'am. I tried my hardest to stop calling her that, but it seriously stuck. I'd call her 2B whenever I remembered to, but sometimes I slipped up and called her ma'am instead. At first, it didn't bother her, and she'd simply correct or ignore me. Now, though, she makes no attempts to try and hide her annoyance. When the "ma'am" slips out, so does 2B's bitter irritation at being referred to it. At least, that's how it normally went.

2B and I were back on the bunker delivering our report to operators 21O and 6O, and were to meet up with the Commander for our next mission briefing. Normally she simply sends her commands via video call, but seeing as we were in the bunker anyway, 2B and I wanted to see the YoRHa Commander face-to-face. It had been awhile since we'd seen her, but that didn't necessarily mean that I missed her or anything. Quite the contrary, actually. She was way more threatening in person…

Either way, we got our mission brief. It was simple; I was to scout ahead into unknown territory with 2B to accompany me, and she was to cut down all machine lifeforms that appeared. We would arrive at Earth by using our flight units, specifically in the city ruins, and make our way towards the unknown area. And when I say unknown, I _mean_ unknown—all we know is that it's a place we've never been to before. All previous YoRHa units never made it back with their data intact, meaning the only information we have on the destination is that it exists, and the directions to the border of the unknown location. Once we go in, 2B and I are on our own.

I was nervous the whole flight down, but didn't dare let it show. My partner and I were silent during the entire trip, and maybe that was enough to give away how nervous I was to 2B. Honestly, I was curious about the place we were going to—but what was the point of being curious about a destination you'll unlikely _ever remember_? And besides, I'd hate to lose all the chips I'm using right now. I looked down at the city ruins as we broke through the stratosphere, and wondered if I would even remember this moment by the time the mission was completed.

We landed on top of a tall skyscraper, where we usually parked our flight units. 2B fell out of hers, and I followed suit. She stood silently for a while, not making any movements or indications that she would even _walk_. I stepped towards her, patting her lightly on the shoulder to get her attention. She turned to face me, her eyes peering through her deep black visor.

"Ma'am? How are you?" I asked, worried about how she might be feeling towards this whole thing. This will probably end with us detonating our black boxes, after all. It wasn't a painless procedure, and not one android in all of YoRHa would look forward to taking the role of suicide bomber.

"Call me onee-chan." She said, voice as serious as ever.

Wait, what?

I stood. I stared. My mouth was wide open in shock and confusion, whereas she stayed exactly the same.

"Uh, ma'am?" I spoke, voice wavering. Was she actually really nervous, and this was her coping with it?

"Call me onee-chan." She commanded once more, standing still. The only things that moved were her hair and skirt due to the force of the wind. I thought that maybe my ears were playing tricks on me, but instead of saying 'please stop' like a normal person, I wanted to get to the bottom of why she was telling me to call her this.

"Like… big sister?" I said, unsure. She stared down at me and nodded. First was the thing with the stick, and now this…? Is this some sort of logic virus? With all these weird events occurring one after the other, that seems to be the most reasonable explanation. Was this weird 'test-my-durability-and-call-me-onee-chan' virus affecting the whole bunker?!

"9S." 2B spoke softly, pulling me out of my thoughts. I regained my composure.

"Yes, ma'am?" I responded, straightening my posture. She began to walk ahead of me, head hanging lower than it was before.

"…Nevermind." She sighed, jumping off the cement tower and floating down with her pod. Although dazed and confused, I followed suit. The empty windows of the skyscrapers glided past us as we slowly fell, and the ground rushed up to meet us. 2B landed softly and elegantly, and I landed as stylishly as I could without falling over. She glanced at me, making eye contact before quickly looking away. "Do you have the location and map data?" She queried, looking at the map on her pod.

"Right. Yeah, I do." I answered, "I'll transfer it over to you." I opened up the map on my own pod, Pod 153, and proceeded to send the directions over to 2B's pod.

"That would be great." She responded, looking down and observing the map data. We were in the open right now, but it didn't seem to faze her. Actually, why should it? She's a complete beast during battle, so it's not like a surprise attack would even give the enemy an advantage. I sighed, trying to relax as much as my partner was.

"Ma'am, I don't understand," I started, leaning on one leg, "how do you keep yourself so calm? We're probably not coming out of this alive." 2B's posture became rigid, her form completely still.

"I'm surprised you haven't picked up on it yet." She said, staring up at the sky. Maybe she was looking for the bunker. Was home her source of comfort, maybe…?

"Picked up on what?" I pressed, walking to her side. She looked at me, disappointed.

"You've been calling me ma'am this whole entire time." She sighed out, shaking her head at the clouds. My face instantly went red, and I made my best effort to cover it. Have I really been calling her ma'am this entire time?! Wait, was she trying to change the topic?

"Oh! S-Sorry, 2B. I didn't reali—"

"I thought I told you to call me onee-chan not even five minutes ago?" She interrupted, closing her map and having Pod 042 return to her side. What did this even have to do with anything?

"Uh, right. Sorry, onee-chan." I apologised, absently scratching my cheek. 2B's head suddenly lowered, and she turned away from me. She must be flustered.

"9S…" She began, barely managing to choke out my name.

"Yeah, onee-chan?" I answered, leaning forward to get a better look at her face. Calling her this was getting embarrassing.

"You weren't actually supposed to call me that…" She spoke, beginning to walk away. I stood, rooted to the ground. Seriously?! Why did she make me say that? Unless…

"Uh… were you trying to make a joke, 2B?" I asked. She just kept on walking, refusing to face me. Looks like she got her cool girl composure back.

"No. Of course not." She denied, steadily increasing the distance between us. "Are you coming?"

"Of course, onee-chan!" I replied, running after her. She just ignored me, continuing to run towards our destination. Our destination…

Suddenly, my gut twisted into knots. We were going to die in there, and I was going to forget all about this. I better back up my memory now so I don't forget…

I woke up after what seemed like forever. I could barely move my body, despite my consciousness being transferred to a new one. Whatever happened in the unknown area must have messed me up big time, because my old mind felt all the damage that happened to my old body. It took me a while to readjust to this new one, but once I persuaded myself that this is where I belonged, I was able to move again. And the first thing I did in my new body was look for 2B. Her mind should be fine if she remembered to back it up, but I still needed to see if she was safe for myself. I made my way to her room, automatic doors welcoming me in, and saw her staring at the white wall in front of her. She looked… sad. Once she noticed me staring, she quickly tied her visor on and stood up to meet me.

"9S. Glad to see you're safe." She greeted, looking down at me with none of the emotion she held before. I nodded my head in response.

"Yeah. Sure is good to see that you're fine, too, onee-chan." I stated, looking up at her. She was taken aback for a moment, mouth slightly parted in shock.

"You remembered that?" 2B said, back to her usual serious self. I smiled.

"How could I forget something like that?" I chuckled, lacing my fingers together in front of me. 2B's hands remained by her sides.

"What else do you remember?" She queried, loose hands turning into fists. I pretended not to notice.

"Nothing. It's the last thing I can remember." I spoke, looking down. I think I heard a relieved sigh escape from 2B. "Why? What happened?"

"I don't remember." She replied bluntly, giving nothing away. Maybe she saw me die, and doesn't want to talk about it. "By the way, 9S…" She started, looking straight past my visor and right into my eyes. I gulped.

"Yes?" I replied, twiddling my thumbs.

"Stop calling me onee-chan. It was a joke." She said, walking past me and out of her room, doors closing behind her. I stood still for a minute, staring at where 2B was just standing. I was frozen in embarrassment. Nevertheless, I chased after her out of the room, and called after her.

"Y-You said it wasn't a joke before!" I cried out to her, finally catching up.

"… I was joking about that too." Was her reply. I decided to drop the whole onee-chan topic and never talk about it again.

Yup, she definitely had a logic virus.


End file.
